Neither a Bear nor a Cat, or A few facts about this Saturday's opponent

A Bearcat, also known as a Binturong (Arctictis binturong) from the order Carnivora and family Viverrida, is neither (as we said in the title) a bear nor a cat. There are no viverrids living in the Americas, but they resemble wolverines and badgers (although no bearcats are playing in the Big Ten).

Two fun facts from the Binghamton Zoo website: "... scent glands are located in such a position that as the animal moves through the trees, the gland drags on branches, leaving a trail of scent behind (the odor is said to be similar to that of popcorn). " & "Females' genitals are similar in appearance to the males."

Why did the University of Cincinnati pick this Asian racoon as its mascot? Was every other carnivore taken? (Actually, there's a good reason involving a player named Leonard "Teddy" Baehr in the UC Traditions section of this page from Buckeyeplanet.com where it is also pointed out the University of Cincinnati has the fifth oldest football program in the top division of college football, after only Rutgers, Michigan, Navy, and Minnesota).

The most important streak coming into tomorrow night's game is the Bearcats' eight-game winning streak, which began at Nippert Stadium last November 18 when they beat our 9-0 Knights by a score of 30-11. That game, not the close overtime loss to West Virginia on December 2, was the game that lost the Big East title for Rutgers in 2006. Who's the newly-ranked overconfident undefeated visitor this year?

If the Scarlet Knights aren't ready for the Bearcats tomorrow, then they'll never be ready for anybody in 2007. They certainly won't be ready for the next two ranked visitors coming to Piscataway in October.